Candice Howe from Reebok CrossFit LifeSpark Dubai talks about the high and lows of competition and riding the roller coaster of life... with a smile.
Looking Good Naked.
There’s more to life than being really, really ridiculously good-looking, but why not BE really, really ridiculously good-looking while you do those other things? Contributing writer Stefan Edwards shares how to get there in two simple steps.
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With beach season fast approaching, many people are scrambling to desperately shed that unwanted fat that defiantly stands in the way between them and their “ideal” beach body. Some people will succeed and turn heads for a few weeks; others will fail miserably and throw in the towel almost immediately. Regardless of which dieting demise people succumb to, almost all of them will end up back where they started, or possibly, even worse-off than when they began.
What’s going on here?
For starters, your body likes being fat. Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. You may think that your body wants you to have the chiseled abs of a Greek God, but the truth is that your body loves having body fat, and the more of it the better.
Your body doesn’t care how you look or if you can fit into a pair of skinny jeans. The only genes it cares about are the ones you need to pass on before you die. Fat is a valuable tool in this regard: if you have a lot of fat you can survive a famine and live another day to sleep around. Obviously there is a point where being too fat hinders one’s ability to procreate/do anything other than lie around being fat; however, unless you’re one of the lucky ones with a good working fat set point[1], this is irrelevant - the majority of us will continue to put on weight long after the point in which that extra body fat changes from an advantageous survival buffer into a liability.
So although it’s possible to lose body fat, it’s not as easy of a process as many people believe. Mathematically it’s simple, but in actual practice it’s quite difficult. Your body will literally fight you every step of the way, doing its best to hold on to as much of that coveted fat as it can. This may sound depressing and make you not even want to try and lose weight, but the truth often isn't what we want to hear, and those who ignore it will never amount to much. By understanding how your body works and being honest about what it’s going to take to change it, you can win this seemingly lost battle and achieve the level of leanness you desire.
The first thing you need to do is admit that your goal is an aesthetic one. Repeat this out loud: “I just want to look good naked.”
Done? Good.
Although being overly narcissistic isn’t an admirable trait, lying about your goals because you’re embarrassed about simply wanting to look better isn’t going to get you anywhere either.
Now that you’ve admitted to yourself what your goal is, you need a plan to achieve it. There are literally hundreds of thousands of programs out there all offering their respective “magic bullet” protocol, but I will tell you right here and now that almost all of them are either completely and utterly fucking useless, or are only maintainable for a short period of time.
Cutting edge gimmicks and trends help to sell programs, but ask anyone in the industry who actually knows what they’re doing what you have to do to look good naked, and they will give you this very boring and simple response:
“Dial in your diet and lift heavy 2-3 times per week.”
That’s it.
If you want to look good naked you need to shed body fat and hold onto as much muscle as you can. You lose body fat by creating a negative energy balance (expend more energy than you take in) and you keep all that hard-earned muscle you have by lifting heavy. There are some tweaks you can play around with like intermittent fasting, carb-cycling etc. to further optimize your results, but without the above-mentioned applied as a base, you won’t get anywhere.
It’s not exciting and it’s sure as hell isn’t very appealing, but it’s what has worked, and until we merge with machines and become cyborgs, it is what will always work.
Stay-tuned to Life Athletics next week for part 2 of this series where I discuss how to correctly set-up your diet and training to get your naked sexy on.
[1] “Body Fat Set point” refers to the level of body fat one’s body can maintain even when consuming excess calories. This explains why some people can eat whatever they want and stay lean. This is a highly complicated system involving various mechanisms and is far outside the scope of this article.
What’s going on here?
For starters, your body likes being fat. Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. You may think that your body wants you to have the chiseled abs of a Greek God, but the truth is that your body loves having body fat, and the more of it the better.
Your body doesn’t care how you look or if you can fit into a pair of skinny jeans. The only genes it cares about are the ones you need to pass on before you die. Fat is a valuable tool in this regard: if you have a lot of fat you can survive a famine and live another day to sleep around. Obviously there is a point where being too fat hinders one’s ability to procreate/do anything other than lie around being fat; however, unless you’re one of the lucky ones with a good working fat set point[1], this is irrelevant - the majority of us will continue to put on weight long after the point in which that extra body fat changes from an advantageous survival buffer into a liability.
So although it’s possible to lose body fat, it’s not as easy of a process as many people believe. Mathematically it’s simple, but in actual practice it’s quite difficult. Your body will literally fight you every step of the way, doing its best to hold on to as much of that coveted fat as it can. This may sound depressing and make you not even want to try and lose weight, but the truth often isn't what we want to hear, and those who ignore it will never amount to much. By understanding how your body works and being honest about what it’s going to take to change it, you can win this seemingly lost battle and achieve the level of leanness you desire.
The first thing you need to do is admit that your goal is an aesthetic one. Repeat this out loud: “I just want to look good naked.”
Done? Good.
Although being overly narcissistic isn’t an admirable trait, lying about your goals because you’re embarrassed about simply wanting to look better isn’t going to get you anywhere either.
Now that you’ve admitted to yourself what your goal is, you need a plan to achieve it. There are literally hundreds of thousands of programs out there all offering their respective “magic bullet” protocol, but I will tell you right here and now that almost all of them are either completely and utterly fucking useless, or are only maintainable for a short period of time.
Cutting edge gimmicks and trends help to sell programs, but ask anyone in the industry who actually knows what they’re doing what you have to do to look good naked, and they will give you this very boring and simple response:
“Dial in your diet and lift heavy 2-3 times per week.”
That’s it.
If you want to look good naked you need to shed body fat and hold onto as much muscle as you can. You lose body fat by creating a negative energy balance (expend more energy than you take in) and you keep all that hard-earned muscle you have by lifting heavy. There are some tweaks you can play around with like intermittent fasting, carb-cycling etc. to further optimize your results, but without the above-mentioned applied as a base, you won’t get anywhere.
It’s not exciting and it’s sure as hell isn’t very appealing, but it’s what has worked, and until we merge with machines and become cyborgs, it is what will always work.
Stay-tuned to Life Athletics next week for part 2 of this series where I discuss how to correctly set-up your diet and training to get your naked sexy on.
[1] “Body Fat Set point” refers to the level of body fat one’s body can maintain even when consuming excess calories. This explains why some people can eat whatever they want and stay lean. This is a highly complicated system involving various mechanisms and is far outside the scope of this article.
John Britton
Immediately prior to this interview, John Britton did not perform up to his expectations or standards during workout four of the 2012 Crossfit Regionals: Asia. He was visibly upset while it was going on and he shows a high level of generosity and candor during the interview in talking about: bouncing back from setbacks, handling adversity, where his drive comes from, contribution, the spillover effect of training, among other topics.
Health and Fitness
Take a deep breath, take another, now get going.
Whether you want to kayak, rock climb, dance all night, carry your child in your arms, carry your groceries home from the store or simply go for a walk around the block comfortably, your level of fitness and your general health can help or hinder you. It’s up to you to determine which will be your life’s story.
Whether you want to kayak, rock climb, dance all night, carry your child in your arms, carry your groceries home from the store or simply go for a walk around the block comfortably, your level of fitness and your general health can help or hinder you. It’s up to you to determine which will be your life’s story.
Life Athletics is for people who want to live life well. The state and management of their body is a HUGELY important factor in that pursuit.
Whether your goals are aesthetic, athletic, health-based or your own crazy blend of motivations, making your body work the best it can pays dividends across the board and I would say that it is the duty of a Life Athlete to take care of their body as best they can.
This is not simply about getting sweaty and building muscle either... although we’re big fans of that around these parts. What we’re talking about is treating your body like the finely tuned machine that it is. Your mind, emotions and lifespan depend on it!
Bestselling author, success coach, “O” network TV personality, and really tall guy, Anthony Robbins says that “the fastest way to change your psychology is to change your physiology.” He goes on to say that your mood can be determined by your posture. He says that if you sit like you’re depressed you’ll feel depressed and if you stand like you’re strong, powerful and happy, that will soon be how you feel. One of my favourite exercises/ experiments of his is to pretend like you’re wearing a superhero cape while you’re walking down the street. Imagine that it’s whipping behind you in the wind and pulling your shoulders back, forcing you to stand tall... I dare you to do it, everyone I know who’s tried it has loved it.
Studies have shown that smiling, even fake smiling when you’re in a pissy mood, can dramatically improve your emotional state and apparently the bigger your smile the longer you might live. There’s a great TED talk about it called “the hidden power of smiling.”
Other studies have shown that poor dental care can adversely affect your overall health.
The point is that the body is connected and it’s up to the Life Athlete to do what they can to ensure that every part is working as well as it can be.
Sure, looking good is a part of the equation but it is not the only part, and your health and fitness goals should take all of your life into account. A sprinter pays special attention to how they stand on the starting blocks, but if your mood, and therefore your outlook on life, is swayed by your posture and your smile then it is up to you as a Life Athlete to pay attention to how you hold your body and how you use your face all of the time; and for goodness sake floss!
We’ll also be looking at the more standard issue fitness topics as well but do not forget that every little thing that you do, to and with, your body has an impact on your health and well being.
Life Athletics is built on the idea that each Life Athlete is meant to create their own goals. It‘s your life and you determine what a “win” is for you. That said we’re all Life Athletes and there will be a lot of overlap between us and what it is that we want from the area of fitness. What we’re doing here is attempting to find and implement best practices across the board. What is “best” for one might not be “best” another, however so we’re going to have a few voices chime in on what works for them and then you can select what best works for YOU.
Remember, first and foremost, we believe that your fitness should serve your life and not the other way around. Training to live is, in our view, far preferable than living to train. We want to be fit so that can we have the physical capacity to try new things and/or to continue doing the old familiar things that bring us joy.
Health and fitness also extends past ones athletics abilities and into the more mundane and less sexy areas of basic self care. How are your teeth? Is your digestive system happy? How about your skin? What about your energy levels? Are you dragging yourself around? Are you always sore and stiff and wanting to stop and lay down? If you’re not feeling strong, vital and vibrant, you might want to look at how you’re managing yourself and maybe try something else. Life is meant to be enjoyed and when your body stops, so does your life.
Now might be a good time to look at your horizon, target and milestone fitness goals... go on, we’ll be here when you get back.
Whether your goals are aesthetic, athletic, health-based or your own crazy blend of motivations, making your body work the best it can pays dividends across the board and I would say that it is the duty of a Life Athlete to take care of their body as best they can.
This is not simply about getting sweaty and building muscle either... although we’re big fans of that around these parts. What we’re talking about is treating your body like the finely tuned machine that it is. Your mind, emotions and lifespan depend on it!
Bestselling author, success coach, “O” network TV personality, and really tall guy, Anthony Robbins says that “the fastest way to change your psychology is to change your physiology.” He goes on to say that your mood can be determined by your posture. He says that if you sit like you’re depressed you’ll feel depressed and if you stand like you’re strong, powerful and happy, that will soon be how you feel. One of my favourite exercises/ experiments of his is to pretend like you’re wearing a superhero cape while you’re walking down the street. Imagine that it’s whipping behind you in the wind and pulling your shoulders back, forcing you to stand tall... I dare you to do it, everyone I know who’s tried it has loved it.
Studies have shown that smiling, even fake smiling when you’re in a pissy mood, can dramatically improve your emotional state and apparently the bigger your smile the longer you might live. There’s a great TED talk about it called “the hidden power of smiling.”
Other studies have shown that poor dental care can adversely affect your overall health.
The point is that the body is connected and it’s up to the Life Athlete to do what they can to ensure that every part is working as well as it can be.
Sure, looking good is a part of the equation but it is not the only part, and your health and fitness goals should take all of your life into account. A sprinter pays special attention to how they stand on the starting blocks, but if your mood, and therefore your outlook on life, is swayed by your posture and your smile then it is up to you as a Life Athlete to pay attention to how you hold your body and how you use your face all of the time; and for goodness sake floss!
We’ll also be looking at the more standard issue fitness topics as well but do not forget that every little thing that you do, to and with, your body has an impact on your health and well being.
Life Athletics is built on the idea that each Life Athlete is meant to create their own goals. It‘s your life and you determine what a “win” is for you. That said we’re all Life Athletes and there will be a lot of overlap between us and what it is that we want from the area of fitness. What we’re doing here is attempting to find and implement best practices across the board. What is “best” for one might not be “best” another, however so we’re going to have a few voices chime in on what works for them and then you can select what best works for YOU.
Remember, first and foremost, we believe that your fitness should serve your life and not the other way around. Training to live is, in our view, far preferable than living to train. We want to be fit so that can we have the physical capacity to try new things and/or to continue doing the old familiar things that bring us joy.
Health and fitness also extends past ones athletics abilities and into the more mundane and less sexy areas of basic self care. How are your teeth? Is your digestive system happy? How about your skin? What about your energy levels? Are you dragging yourself around? Are you always sore and stiff and wanting to stop and lay down? If you’re not feeling strong, vital and vibrant, you might want to look at how you’re managing yourself and maybe try something else. Life is meant to be enjoyed and when your body stops, so does your life.
Now might be a good time to look at your horizon, target and milestone fitness goals... go on, we’ll be here when you get back.
Rashmi Cole
Rashmi Cole started a crossfit program at the Sri Ram Ashram giving a very real sense of purpose and empowerment to the orphans living there. Here is a glimpse into her story.
Vijay Raj
Life Orienteering: The first step.
Life Athletes, is this familiar? You have an idea about something you want to implement or change in your life and then stall for a moment as you wonder what to do first. People often have a swell of motivation after making a decision in their lives and then seem to want to change EVERYTHING before that feeling vanishes.
In their mad scramble to jump into action, two steps are often overlooked. These steps can mean the difference between reaching your destination and being lost.
(Read the full article)
In their mad scramble to jump into action, two steps are often overlooked. These steps can mean the difference between reaching your destination and being lost.
(Read the full article)
Training area banner words
Hey Life Athletes! Ever since the first version of the Life Athletics Self-Evaluation Resource was published people have been demanding to know what the words were that filled in the space behind each training area’s title banner. Because you wanted them, here they are!
These were meant as a guide, a hint of the direction that one might take. A graphic way to get people to think of what each area meant to them. It wasn’t imagined as a definitive or all-encompassing compilation but it is fun and can be inspiring.
Having the title be behind the text was tried but it just looked... messy and so for the sake of aesthetics the title was brought to the front and the words were hidden. If you’ve been wondering what was said there, wonder no more! It’s a fun, playful list and I hope you...
Enjoy!
(See the entire article)
2012
This is it: 2012! A new year and a symbolic, yet also very real, opportunity to create the life of your dreams. I’m declaring that I’ll be using this year to transform my life. I’m inviting anyone who’s interested to do this along with me.
Every month I will be looking directly at a specific training area of life. I will attempt to pick up the best practices in each area and turn them into habits. I believe that we are the made up of our habits of thought and habits of action. (Read the entire article)
Every month I will be looking directly at a specific training area of life. I will attempt to pick up the best practices in each area and turn them into habits. I believe that we are the made up of our habits of thought and habits of action. (Read the entire article)
The T-Shirt
It's a T-shirt but also a representation of my journey as a Life Athlete.
Read all about what this means to me here.
Read all about what this means to me here.
The Life Athlete Vol. 1
As I work to relaunch Life Athletics, it only seemed natural to have the first edition of ‘The Life Athlete’ be a history of Life Athletics and a vision for its future. The vision moving forward is a grand one and I hope you will be a part of it. (Read the entire post)